Now Storm Doris is on the way! Freezing Britain faces 10 days of 100mph gales, rain and snow as February begins

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Britain is set to be battered by 100mph gales and heavy rain before a killer cold snap of -10C sets in later this month.

After last week's freeze, the Met Office has forecast heavy and prolonged showers in England and Wales for the first half of this week, before strong gales set in across the British Isles.

The Met Office warned motorists and pedestrians to watch out for falling trees as the weather becomes increasingly unsettled, with warnings that the stormy conditions could last up to 10 days.

As a result, severe weather warning for winds were issued for Friday for the majority of England and Wales.

Things aren't likely to get any better, with a -10 chill setting in during the middle and end of the month, with health bodies warning that death figures could spike.

Met Office forecaster Emma Sharples said: ‘It’s going to be wet and windy and quite stormy. There were places in the south and east that were struggling to reach freezing and now are in double figures. 

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A mist descends on London as the country prepares to be battered by 100mph gales and heavy rain - before a killer cold snap of -10C sets in later this month

A killer cold of -10C has been forecast for much of February - after the previous -5 snap caused an extra 1,000 deaths this month.

After last week's freeze, the Met Office has forecast heavy and prolonged showers in England and Wales for the first half of this week, before strong gales set in across the British Isles

Tourists rap up against the cold as they take a punt along the river Cam in Cambridge, as stormy weather begins to brew

‘By the time we get to Tuesday somewhere like Glasgow will be about 8C and parts of the north of England will by 7C. Everywhere will see spells of rain that will last five to six hours.

‘Strong to gale force winds are expected and it will remain quite windy into the weekend. There’s a chance of cold weather in the mid to later part of February.'

Forecaster Emma Salter added: ‘It’s a big change from cold to unsettled conditions into February. A westerly flow means wet and windy spells at times, with gales possible in the North and West.

‘But it looks like it turning colder again in mid and late February. The wind direction is expected to shift to a colder direction, which is from the east or north, with high pressure building.

‘Wintry conditions are possible again. People should keep an eye on the forecast.’ 

Hundreds more cold weather deaths are feared in the February chill - after 1,023 more deaths than average were recorded in the week temperatures hit -5C this month.

In the week ending January 13, the most recent week for which death figures from the Office of National Statistics are available, 13,715 deaths were reported in England and Wales, up from the week's average of 12,692. 

ONS figures show 20 per cent of winter deaths are people aged under 75, with 11 per cent under 65. The Department of Health said cold conditions worsen winter killers including flu, chest diseases, heart attacks, strokes and dementia.

Public Health England said many cold weather deaths were preventable - blaming draughty houses' lack of insulation, inadequate heating and Brits failing to wrap up warm in chills.

Department of Health chief medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies, writing in the Cold Weather Plan for England, said: 'Cold-related deaths represent the biggest weather-related source of mortality. Winter sees a significant rise in deaths.'

Dr Thomas Waite, of Public Health England's extreme events team, said: 'Thousands of people die because of their exposure to cold weather. It's really important we all do everything we can to ensure everyone stays well.' 

Temperatures this week have seen a big contrast between different areas of the UK, with a 20-celsius swing between Plymouth – with highs of 11C – and Cairngorm in Scotland at -9C.

The coldest night of the year so far has been recorded in Scotland, with the UK seeing a temperature difference of more than 20 degrees between north and south.

Braemar in Aberdeenshire saw temperatures dip to minus 10.1C, while the Isles of Scilly recorded 10.2C, the Met Office said.

Met Office spokeswoman Emma Sharples said Braemar was a 'well-known cold spot' due to its location in the Scottish Highlands.

Temperatures this week have seen a big contrast between different areas of the UK, with a 20-celsius swing between Plymouth – with highs of 11C – and Cairngorm in Scotland at -9C

After last week's freeze, the Met Office has forecast increasingly stormy conditions in the UK before another big chill returns

The top of the Shard in London is completely shrouded in mist and stormy conditions make their way across the Atlantic

The Met Office warned motorists and pedestrians to watch out for falling trees as the weather becomes increasingly unsettled, with warnings that the stormy conditions could last up to 10 days

The beach in Weymouth, Dorset, was empty apart from a few pigeons this afternoon, with the weather not likely to improve going forward

'It is a valley location, so you tend to get cold air drained down into the valley,' she said.

The chilly spell did not beat the coldest night of the winter though - on Monday December 5 temperatures fell to minus 11C in Cromdale, Moray.

Snow cover in Scotland and cold air in the north helped keep temperatures low, with overnight figures of minus 3C in Edinburgh, minus 2.8C in Carlisle and minus 1.6C in Durham.

Meanwhile, temperatures hit 4.3C in Nottingham, 7.1C in Gravesend and 7.7C in Cardiff. The coldest night in January 2016 was minus 12.4C in Kinbrace, Scotland.

A spokesman from MeteoGroup said the UK could see highs of 13C (55.4F) in the coming week, as the weather gets a lot milder.

He said 'low pressure systems moving in from the Atlantic' would cause the change in temperature.

Towards the weekend and into the second week of February, the weather will 'get quite unsettled', as wind and heavy rain sweeps across the UK.

The conditions, meanwhile, resulted in a series of accidents in the Highlands including a collision involving seven vehicles on the A9.

Emergency services were called to the multiple accidents on Monday. The first happened at 9.20am on Drumossie Brae just south of Inverness, before a second happened at 9.30am at the junction to Carrbridge/A938.

Seven vehicles were involved in the first accident including a Volvo coach with 18 passengers, a Ford Ranger, Ford Fiesta, Citroen C3, Volkswagen Passat, Mitsubishi Shogun and a Seat Ibiza.

No-one was injured and police said the road reopened again at around 11.30am.

The second accident at the Carrbridge junction involved a Volkswagen Crafter flatbed van and a lorry. A man in his fifties was airlifted to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, but is not believed to be in a life-threatening condition.

Sergeant Donnie MacKinnon of Police Scotland said: 'We believe a contributory factor in the collision on the A9 at Drumossie has been the presence of a low-lying sun, causing reduced visibility for drivers.

'It is fortunate no-one has sustained life-threatening injuries and that of course is the most important thing, but these collisions resulted in two separate closures of the main A9 arterial route which brought with it disruption for all road users.

'Whilst I would like to thank road users for their patience during the closures, it is also important to remind drivers of the importance of driving to the road conditions and adjusting their speed accordingly.'

The coldest night of the year so far has been recorded in Scotland, with the UK seeing a temperature difference of more than 20 degrees between north and south